ThemewaccountingsystemintheCzechRepublic捷克共和国的新会计制文档格式.docx
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RudolfSchroll
VysokaskolaekonomickavPraze
Abstract
Thepurposeofthepaperisthreefold.First,toprovideanassessmentoftheaccountingsystemoperatedinCzechosolovakiaduringtheperiodoftheso-calledcentrallyplannedeconomy(i.e.thecommandeconomy).Second,toprovideacharacterizationofthenewaccountingsystemintroducedin1993.third,toprovidesomeindicationofdevelopingtendencieslikelytobecomesignificantinthefuture.
ACCOUNTINGINTHECENTRALLYPLANNEDECONOMY
Itisimportanttounderstandthattheobjectivesofaccounting,especiallyoffinancialaccounting,inthecentrallyplannedeconomyarefundamentallydifferentfromtheobjectivesofaccountinginthemarketeconomy.Thesedifferenceshaveimplicationforthedirectionandrateofaccountingchangeduringthetransitiontothemarketeconomy.
Thespecificnatureofaccountinginthecentrallyplannedeconomymaybeexaminedfromfouraspects.First,accountingwasnot,inprinciple,aninstrumentatthedisposalofthemanagementofanenterpriseorotherentity(e.g.institution,organization).Onthecontrary,accountingwasrequiredtofulfiltheneedsofthecentralinstitutionoftheplannedeconomy,suchastheStatePlanningCommissionCentralStatisticalOffice,MinistryofFinance.Theeconomicministries(forvariousbranchesofthenationaleconomy).
Itwasthereforenecessaryfortheaccountingsystemtobecentrallydirectedandcontrolled.Thiswasachievedthroughtheintroductionofthefollowingmeasures:
·
auniformchartofaccounts,designedcentrallyandobligatoryforallprofitmakingenterprisesandothereconomicentities.Aseparateandobligatorychartofaccountswaspreparedfornon-profitseekingentities;
adetailedaccountingmethodology,adherencetowhichwasobligatoryforallaccountingentities.ItspreparationwastheresponsibilityoftheMinistryofFinance;
auniformsystemoffinancialstatementsintendedtoservetheneedsofthecentralauthorities.Thesecomprisednotonlythebalancesheetandtheprofitandlossaccountbutalsofromeighttotensupplementarystatementsdealingwithvariousaspectsofanenterprise’sactivities.Therewereseveralreportingcyclesofdifferinglengths.Forexample,theprofitandlossaccountwassubmittedtothecentralauthoritiesmonthlywhereasthebalancesheetwassubmittedonlybiannually.Theotherstatementsweresubmittedeitherquarterlyorannually.Therewasnocashflowstatementsbecausethefinancingofenterpriseswasnocashflowstatementbecausethefinancingofenterpriseswascentralized.
Thefinancialstatementaccordedmostimportancewastheprofitandlossaccount.Itwasnotpreparedfortheneedsoftheenterprisebuttosatisfytheneedsofthecentralauthoritiesthroughthegenerationofmacroeconomicstatistics.Intheprofitandlossaccountexpenseswereclassifiedbyelementsofcost.Revenueswereclassifiedsoastorevealtheflowsindifferentsectorsoftheeconomy,suchasproduction,tradeandtransport.Theprofitandlossaccountwasintendedtoserveasabasisforthecomputationoftheprinciplemacroeconomicindicators,suchasnationalproduct,nationalincomeandsoon.
Becauseofthesystemofcentralizedfinancingthebalancesheetwasnotconsideredtobeanimportantfinancialstatement.Becauseoftheabsenceofprivateownershipinthemeansofproductiontherewasnoconceptionof“owner’scapital”.Thepassive(i.e.capitalandliabilities)sideofthebalancesheethadanespeciallypoorinformationcontent.
Thedetailedmethodologywasissuednotonlyforfinancialaccountingbutalsoforcostaccounting.Theprincipleofmonism(i.e.theunifiedperceptionofreality)wasappliedstrictly.Thesameresulthadtobeshowninfinancialaccountingandcostaccounting.
Second,thefinancialstatementswererequiredtoprovideinformationfortheuseofthecentralauthoritiesintheadministrationoftheplannedeconomy.Thesefinancialstatementshadverylimitedimportanceforthemanagementoftheenterprise;
theywererelevanttothefunctioningofthecentralizedsystemoffinancing.Featuresofsystemwere:
themonopolypositionofthestatebank;
theabsenceofbankruptcy(forallpracticalpurposes);
thecentrallyorganizedsystemofpricefixing;
theveylimitedinfluenceofinterest.
Pricesweredeterminedprimarilyonthebasisof‘costplus’.However,thesystemofwholesalepriceswasindependentofthesystemofretailprices.Similarly,thesystemofforeigntradepricewasself-contained.
Becauseofthesystemofcentrallydeterminedandcontrolledpricessomeenterpriseswerehighlyprofitablewhileotherenterpriseswereoperatedataloss.However,theplannedlosseswerealmostalwaysautomaticallycoveredbyasystemofsubsidies.Ont